You can click here you can find some posts on local craft goods available and about LYS’s in neighhoring countries.

There are also some supplies available at the local markets. Perhaps the best selection can be found at Orussey Market in central Phnom Penh. There are two stalls selling acrylic yarns from Thailand, buttons, scissors, hoops, embroidery threads and, of course, needles and hooks.

There are two types of needles: cheap and cheaper. The cheap ones range from 4000 riel to 6000 riel a pair depending on the size. They are metallic colour, with red tips where the size is indicated. The sizes are not metric or US, but the lesser used Canadian or Chinese numbering. So a size 10 on these needles is 3.75 in metric or size 5 in US. The thinner sized ones are fine to work with, but the thicker needles are a bit heavy and might strain your wrists after a while.

The cheaper needles are only 2000 riel a pair but are highly unrecommended. They come in many colours, colours which quickly end up on your yarn, ruining whatever you are working on.

Pretty to look at, but low quality.

Crochet hooks are limited to very thin metal ones, as Cambodian women only crochet with the finest threads (usually in hot pink and fluorescent green and yellow).

Finding your way: Psaa Orussey is a giant, sprawling monster and it is easy to get lost, confused, distraught. The craft supply stalls are on the top floor (3rd floor for Canadians, 2nd floor for those of you that call the first floor, the ground floor) near the shoe stalls. If you are familiar with a compass, this is the north-east corner of the market. It’s best to enter the market from Street 111 or Street 116, closest to where these two meet. Find stall number 135-136 and you’re there. It might help to look out for the plastic blue hoops as these are hung above the stall and are easy to spot.

Near stall 135-136, is another stalls, on a corner, that has pretty much the same products but more buttons, so you can check them if the first stall doesn’t have your size or colour.